By the end of next year, CoreLife will add more locations nationwide and in New York in Rochester, the Hudson Valley area, Buffalo and Albany.

The menu is full of greens and grains - salads, broths, grain bowls and other dishes that put vegetables and protein front-and-center. This fall, Wilson said, CoreLife will start serving "plates," entrees filled with roasted vegetables and a protein of choice. The plates will range in price from $8.95 to $10.95.

Wilson would not say where the DeWitt store will be. He said the project is being considered by town officials. The company plans to open it in the spring.

Core's founders include Wilson, a Binghamton restaurateur who operates many Moe's Southwest Grill locations; Todd Mansfield, a Southern Tier medical industry veteran; Scott Davis, who worked with Panera Bread for 28 years; and the Caveny family. John and Lisa Caveny, and their daughter Megan, once ran Jo-Li-Me, another casual eatery with former locations in downtown Syracuse and at 7265 Buckley Road, where CoreLife is now.

Wilson said by the end of 2018, about one-third of the CoreLife locations will be franchised, with the rest owned by the company. Currently, CoreLife has about 700 workers, including those working at headquarters and throughout the 21 locations. By the end of next year, CoreLife will have about 1,700 workers, Wilson said.

Wilson credited M&T Bank, CoreLife's lender, with much of the company's success.

"We could not have done it without them," Wilson said. "They have been with us 120 percent."